Dictionary.com Word Of The Day
Jul. 31, 2016
polyphonic\pol-ee-FON-ik\adjective
1. consisting of many voices or sounds.
2. Music. a) having two or more voices or parts, each with an
independent melody, but all harmonizing; contrapuntal (opposed to
homophonic). b) pertaining to music of this kind. c) capable of
producing more than one tone at a time, as an organ or a harp.
QuotesThe animals were singing. The chorus was improvised but
polyphonic, true music, and in that music Amy could hear joy and
longing in equal parts.
-- Jincy Willett, Amy Falls Down, 2013
Origin of polyphonicPolyphonic can be traced to the Greek terms
polýs meaning "many" and phÅnḠmeaning "voice." It entered English
in the late 1700s.More From Dictionary.comSubmit a favorite word for a
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